Missoula City Council looks to amend the urban camping ordinance

MISSOULA — Housing remains front and center in Missoula after city leaders passed an urban camping ordinance in June.

We recently talked to No Camp Missoula, a nonprofit that's working to change the amendment to allow urban camping in parks. MTN has also talked with Missoula City Council members about the changes they'd like to see.

"A lot of my constituents are very angry with allowing the urban camping in parks,” said Sandra Vasecka, Ward 6 City Council representative.

“They do not want people camping in our parks,” said Amber Sherill, Ward 4 City Council representative and President of Missoula City Council.

It’s been several months since the Missoula City Council passed an ordinance that allowed urban camping in city parks with buffer zones.

• RELATED: Residents voice concerns over the new Missoula urban camping ordnance

Sherill explained what her goal was with passing the ordinance.
“My goal with the ordinance originally was to push people to utilize our shelter system. Our shelter system is something we all pay for. It is not full. So I don't want camping anywhere in our city. I want them in our shelter system. It's the best for those that are unsheltered. It is the best for the neighborhoods. It is the best way for providers like the [Poverllo Center], like Partnership Health, to actually find their clients. So I think...the goal is the same; how we achieve the goal is something we're still talking about and trying to figure out what things need to be changed in the ordinance, what kind of enforcement mechanisms we need? Are we going to take out parks?” Sherill said.

Cities all over the United States have had an unhoused problem within city limits. The City of Missoula is continuing to look at other cities that are facing a similar problem and to see what works and what doesn’t.

“We are always looking at what other people are doing because instead of reinventing the wheel, it's way better to figure out something that has worked. You know, our mobile support team that came from a model in Eugene, Oregon. So for sure, we're always looking at what other cities are doing, what is working, what is not working," Sherill told MTN. "The bottom line is no one has solved this, and it requires money...that we don't have. And that I know my constituents, as far as the taxpayers, don't want to be taxed anymore on this, so I think it's just a complicated issue."

• RELATED: Missoula’s rules restricting camping on city property cause confusion, frustration

Sherill also explained the solution to urban camping and the unhoused is a complicated one.
“Grants Pass said that unless we had shelter beds available, we could not move people off of city property. We couldn't really do anything about people camping in the city. When that was overturned, we were...allowed to go ahead and move people so we could go back to 100% no camping, no place in the city. That's actually not going to solve the problem in the city. It's going to mean that we are going to need an immense amount of enforcement, enforcement funding, enforcement mechanisms to watch over that."

Sherill talked about what the possible next steps could be with urban camping and the unhoused population.

“We are looking at one of the things we directed the mayor in the ordinance is an authorized campsite or someplace that people could be, and we're continuing to look at that, and I know the administration's continuing to look at that. We need a partner in the community," Sherill said. "We don't know how to run one of those. We are a municipality. We're really good at certain things, but, actually running a homeless authorized campsite or a shelter is not something that we have the skill set, nor does our staff have the skill set to do that. So, we need a partner in the community to run something like that."

The discussions around the ordinance started last year with urban camping working groups and public hearings. There were about 25 hours of committee meetings as well as Missoula City Council meetings for the ordinance.

• RELATED: City of Missoula sets cost of implementing crisis camping ordinance at $1M

Vasecka explained why she was in support of the ordinance when it was passed.
“When we first had the buffer zone ordinance come in front of Council. That was when the Ninth Circuit Court said that you cannot criminalize or enforce any rules of urban camping in public spaces. And so I was happy with having buffer zones because that at least put some parameters on when and where people could camp on the public areas that are paid for by our taxes, by our constituency. They pay for our tax dollars, so the people who pay those taxes should be able to use those places as well."

While camping in the park has been a major concern for neighbors, there's still camping taking place around waterways including the Clark Fork River. But Vasecka says that it’s the parks that are the main focus right now.

“I just really want to focus on the parks for now. I don't want to bite off anymore. I don't want to go too deep into it. I just want to make a really simple change to it, because there was a lot of council support for the amendment itself or for the ordinance itself. So I just want to make this it's a minor of a big change, so I don't want to complicate it too much,” Vaseka said.

The community has been reaching out to Missoula City Council, upset about the ordinance, but Vaseka says it's because of what’s left behind and the rules that aren’t being followed.

“A lot of my constituents are very angry with allowing urban camping and parks. They've seen condoms, needles, defecation on the playground equipment, and it's just it's not safe," Vasecka told MTN. "There was a huge issue at McLeod Park with folks blatantly disregarding the buffer zones that are in place. And so a lot of the constituency is really frustrated. I am myself, and I'm hoping that this is just a way to, like I said...[put] black and white rules around it."

Vasecka says that after the Supreme Court ruled to overturn Grant’s Pass she wanted immediate action but decided to wait.

“I wanted to do it immediately in the summer, as soon as I heard that the Supreme Court overturned the Ninth Circuit Court decision. I wanted to do it immediately, and then the original ordinance didn't start to get rolling out or implemented until July, August. That's when that huge windstorm hit and so that really tapped out the city's resources. And so I realized that all that happened at once... I was giving them a little bit of leeway,” Vasecka said.

Even with a review in January, Vasecka says the amendment needs to be heard now instead of at the beginning of the new year.

“Originally, we were supposed to hear it in September, Octoberish, but with moving it till to hear in October, I guess in a couple of weeks here for the first time, with the public hearing being on November, 18, with the current ordinance. There is supposed to be a review of it in January. I'm uncomfortable with moving my amendment to January because a lot of folks are mad now. We want to see results now."

“I just want to see results. I don't care how I get to them. I don't...I'm okay with accepting amendments to it, tweaking anything that I need to. I just want kids to be able to play in the playgrounds. I want folks who are paying our tax dollars to be able to go with their kids and their family and feel safe there," Vaseka said

"And it's unfortunate that we're having this problem, because I do believe in social safety nets, and I do feel for the folks that have that are put in this situation," Vaseka continued. "However, there's a lot of people that are abusing the kindness of our city...that aren't enforcing the buffer zones or enforcing the rules. And if they're not going to follow the rules, and I have to put this strict amendment change to it."

• RELATED: New report sheds light on cost of homelessness in Missoula

Vasecka says hoping more opinions will be heard in Missoula City Council chambers.
“A lot of folks came that were speaking against the ordinance. They thought that the ordinance was too harsh, having these buffer zones. But nobody spoke about having the buffer zones or even allowing having availability of camping and parks for the 8 p.m. to 8 a.m.," Vaseka explained.

"So I really hope that folks that missed that chance to public comment, I really hope that they do come to this public comment, even if it means that we're going to be staying up until 4 a.m. I really hope that's not the case, but I really do want to hear everyone's opinion on that, whether for or against it, because I really want to do what's best for our constituents,” Vasecka added.

The amendment for the urban camping ordinance will be in committee on October 23, 2024, and if passed it will be heard at the November 18 Missoula City Council meeting.